Leominster's Chalifoux Zephir heads to special election for Senate seat after beating Dem opponents in primary

A Leominster city councilor cinched the Democratic nomination for the Worcester Middlesex state Senate seat after her successor left the legislature last summer to serve on a high-profile state regulatory board.

Sue Chalifoux Zephir defeated Michael Mahan and Fitchburg City Council President Michael Kushmerek in Tuesday's primary election, according to preliminary reports.

"I am excited beyond words, I want to thank everyone who came out to vote for me," said Chalifoux Zephir. "I'm looking forward to the general special election and will work as hard as I can to make sure I represent the people across the Worcester-Middlesex district."

With Lunenburg, Berlin, and two precincts in Leominster not reporting, Chalifoux Zephir won more than 50 percent of the vote, according to a preliminary count of the votes.

Candidate for state senate Sue Chalifoux Zephir holds signs with her life long friend Mike Byrd outside the polls at the Veterans' Center in Leominster on Tuesday afternoon. SENTIENL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE

While the vote-count is not official, Mahan and Kushmerek congratulated Chalifoux-Zephir on her primary win.

"I'm incredibly proud of the campaign we ran, and I'm thankful to everyone on my campaign team," Mahan wrote in a statement. "I want to congratulate Sue on a successful campaign, and I'd like to extend my support to ensure Sue will keep this seat Democrat in December."

Michael Kushmerek, the Ward 4 Fitchburg City Councilor and City Council President, also congratulated the Leominster City Councilor. He thanked his primary backers and acknowledged Mahan's contribution to the race in a statement.

"I want to congratulate Sue Chalifoux-Zephir on a hard-fought campaign, and will offer my full support to her candidacy in next month's special election," he said.

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"This was a campaign on the issues, and that's what voters deserved."

Chalifoux-Zephir celebrated with supporters at Slate Bar & Grill in Leominster, where supports ate and drank while watching eagerly for local election results.

She has advocated for increased funding for public schools and transportation, and supported reestablishing a commuter rail stop in Gardner.

Candidate for State Senator Mike Mahan has a good laugh while holding one of his signs and his daughter Merrick Mahan, 2, outside the polls at the Veterans' Center in Leominster on Tuesday afternoon. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/JOHN LOVE

She spoke of the need to expand drug rehabilitation and treatment services as state lawmakers look to curb the opioid epidemic, a message that resonated with Fitchburg voter Uri Rivera, 39, one of a steady stream of voters who cast votes at Memorial Middle School as the sun went down.

"The opioid issue, I've seen the impact of that on Fitchburg," said Rivera after voting for Chalifoux-Zephir. "I'm a father, I'm sick and tired of seeing syringes in the neighborhood when I take my son to the park, and she spoke to that."

Michael Mahan, who left his job as a technology company director to focus on the state Senate race full-time, waited for results at Rye & Thyme in Leominster.

During his primary run Mahan promised to use his experience as a hospital trustee to help insulate the state's health care market from uncertainty surrounding the Affordable Care Act.

His pushed school funding, universal pre-kindergarten and increased access to technical vocational education.

Tiffany Normandin, 31, of Leominster said outside City Hall at about 7 p.m. that she voted for Mahan for his advocacy of special education programming in city schools.

"He is a great person, we see eye to eye on a lot of issues, our heart is with the special education program and our values are in the same," said Normandin.

During his campaign Kushmerek stressed the need for affordable health care coverage. His message of workforce and economic development won him endorsements from several local unions.

His promise to advocate for the needs of Fitchburg if elected to serve along legislatures on Beacon Hill won him Frank Pierce's vote.

"They'd be seeing a lot more of our town so I think local aid would be a lot better," said Pierce. "He's been in city politics, he's president of the council, so he knows something."

Communities have four days to certify election results. The results tallied after polls closed at 8 p.m. are preliminary numbers.

The state Senate primary race coincided with local municipal elections in several communities statewide, including Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner and Lowell.

The seat became vacant in August when Jennifer Flanagan left her elected position for a spot on the Cannabis Control Commission.

Chalifoux Zephir will face off against Republican nominee Dean Tran, Leominster City Councilor Claire Freda, who is running for state Senate as an unenrolled candidate, and Green-Rainbow candidate Charlene DiCalogero in the general election on Dec. 5.

The winner of the general election will serve out the remainder of Flanagan's term representing more than 158,087 people living in Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, Berlin, Bolton, Clinton, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Sterling and Westminster.

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